Discussion 1: Bicultural Adaptation Theory
Qin et al. (2015) used two theories—bicultural adaptation theory and the theory of emerging adulthood
—to support their study on Sudanese young adult refugees and their adaptation to life in the United States. They observed that many studies have explored how refugee youths adapt to their new life with parental support, but they could not find any studies on those refugees who came to the United States without parental accompaniment (p. 214). For the PhD student, this represents a gap in the empirical literature; therefore, a PhD student may make a claim that their dissertation study would fill this gap. For a DSW student, this observation could lead them to explore the social work practice implications of the effects of refugee youths leaving their native homelands and adapting to a new environment without their parents. Remember, a PhD dissertation is designed to address a gap or an area that has yet to be addressed in the social work body of knowledge. A DSW capstone project’s purpose is to inform and/or improve social work practice.
In exploring how these Sudanese emerging adults adapt, Qin et al. conducted a study with interpretivist epistemological underpinnings. In this Discussion, you have the opportunity to review the themes (qualitative findings) they extracted from the interviews (pp. 223–232) and their write-up of these themes in a narrative that tells a story of these youths’ experiences.
As you review the study’s findings for this Discussion, keep in mind the axiological assumption of interpretivism and how the researchers’ own experiences, biases, worldviews, and beliefs would influence how the data is analyzed and interpreted. Because of the subjective nature of research studies facilitated by interpretivism, the trustworthiness of the data is always a concern (pp. 221–222).
To prepare:
Read the following article listed in the Learning Resources: Qin, D. B., Saltarelli, A., Rana, M., Bates, L., Lee, J. A., & Johnson, D. J. (2015). “My culture helps me make good decisionsâ€: Cultural adaptation of Sudanese refugee emerging adults. Journal of Adolescent Research, 30(2), 213–243. doi:10.1177/0743558414547097
By Day 3
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